Social Media Service Providers (Civil Liability and Oversight) Bill

Key Points

• It creates civil liability for social media service providers for certain user publications in specified circumstances.
• It establishes a Commissioner for Online Safety with statutory duties and powers to oversee the regime.
• It requires social media providers to disclose certain information to support oversight and enforcement.
• The provisions are designed to operate alongside existing laws and for connected purposes.
• The bill is currently at the 2nd reading stage in the House of Commons.

Progress

The bill is currently at the 2nd reading in the House of Commons; after this stage it would move to further stages such as committee, report, and third reading before potential passage to the Lords.

Voting

In a related Lords debate in 2018 on a Civil Liability Bill, Labour and Liberal Democrats backed the measures while the Conservative party opposed; the votes showed a cross-party split with some amendments defeated.